Within the last fifteen (15) years, as the properties of carbon nanotubes have been better understood, interests in carbon nanotubes have greatly increased within and outside of the research community. One key to making use of these properties is the synthesis of nanotubes in sufficient quantities for them to be used industrially. For example, large quantities of carbon nanotubes may be needed if they are to be used as high strength components of CNTs in macroscale three-dimensional structures (i.e., structures having dimensions greater than about 1 cm).
Carbon nanotubes are known to have extraordinary tensile strength, including high strain to failure and relatively high tensile modulus. Carbon nanotubes may also be highly electrically and thermally conductive while being resistant to fatigue, radiation damage, and heat. For example, carbon nanotubes can be good thermal conductors along the tube, where each individual tube can have thermal conductivities potentially in excess of 2000 W/m·K. However, this conductivity is anisotropic, exhibiting properties with different values when measured in different directions and is dramatically reduced when a large ensemble of tubes are used in a sheet or mat.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a material that can take advantage of the characteristics and properties of carbon nanotubes, so that efficient and light-weight devices, such as shielding and/or thermal insulators, can be manufactured in a cost-effective manner.